The Little Things
by DixonVixen93
Summary: AU Tag to "Clear": Sometimes, the little things matter the most in the world. But sometimes, it's the people that help you deal. Merle/Michonne.


**Guys, I am milking these last three episodes on my copy of Season Three. We all know that I am a huge Merle fan, and I've seen "This Sorrowful Life" about fifty times by now, but I just can't bring myself to watch it tonight. I think about it and I can't stop crying. Ergo, fanfiction! **

**This one is a tag to "Clear", starring Merle and Michonne. Hope ya'll enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

_**The Little Things**_

In the apocalypse, even the little things matter. The smallest things that never mattered to you in your everyday life suddenly make or break your day. Michonne had noticed this from day one. She missed the simple ring on a cell phone, the music that her next door neighbor's teenaged son would play, the sound of her daughters' laughter as she scooped them up and held them close…

Now, all of that that was gone; Michonne's neighbors fled the day that the apocalypse began, and, as hard of a pill it was to swallow, she didn't have her daughters anymore, either. Their father had taken them for his weekend, but the dark-skinned survivor never got to see either of them again. When the world went to shit, walkers bombarded her ex husband's house. Michonne's four and two year old daughters were slaughtered, but that deadbeat, _asshole_ of a man got to survive. It didn't seem fair; a man who had hardly worked a day in his life got to escape, but his innocent daughters never stood a chance.

Michonne grew harder from that day on, and she kept her memories locked away for safekeeping. Ever since she lost her daughters, she had found little to no joy left in this world. But when she did, she tried to savor it for as long as she could, forever keeping it in the back of her mind.

On her trip back from King County with Rick and Carl, she had found something that made her think of home. Having a rainbow cat statue in the zombie apocalypse might seem a little strange, but for the katana-wielding survivor, it was just perfect. She loved cats; while it wouldn't change anything, it was a nice reminder of home. And, to Michonne, every little bit helped.

o—o—o

The first person to discover Michonne's new treasure was none other than Merle himself. He casually walked by her cell, only to see her admiring something from a distance. The redneck grinned to himself as he stood in front of her open cell.

"Well hey, _Mi_chonne," he greeted, glancing in at her. He must've caught her off guard, for when she looked back at him, she had to do a quick double take. "I scare ya, did I?"

"No," she snorted in disbelief. Michonne turned to face Merle, tipping her chin up slightly. "What do you want, Merle?"

The brash redneck just laughed, inching closer to her as he leaned against the cell bars. "Nothin', can't I jus' come strollin' by?"

The katana-wielding survivor resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she just sighed heavily. "And my cell is the one you decide to stop by _because_?"

"Oh, c'mon, Mute," Merle rasped, eyes raking her up and down. "You an' I both know we both got some _history_ between us, hmm?"

Michonne quirked an eyebrow. "Merle, what in the _hell_ are you talkin' 'bout?" She then came up closer to him, "you do remember that you tried to kill me?"

"Let bygones be bygones, sweetheart," the redneck nodded towards her, an odd smile in place. "I was jus' doin' my job," he paused, looking at her kind of strange, "thought we already discussed this."

"And I guess that that was supposed to be an apology?" the dark-skinned woman asked, tilting her head.

"Sure was" Merle told her, "I never wanted you dead in first place, ya know."

Michonne shook her head, walking back into her cell. "Go feed that line of bullshit to someone else. I don't want to hear it."

"Damn, woman, you're breakin' my heart o'er here," the redneck called back to her retreating form. "Jus' here me out for a second, huh?"

She just sighed, finally admitting defeat. "Fine. But don't try anything stupid."

Merle liked this woman, all right. He noticed somethin' about her from the first time he laid eyes on her in that forest. Then, when she outsmarted him and got away when he tried to take her out, that was when he knew that she was something damn special. He wanted to clear the air for his brother's sake, but it didn't hurt that he also really had a thing for this one.

When the elder Dixon brother entered Michonne's cell, his eyes fell on the rainbow cat statue. Of all things, he never expected this to be in her cell. "What's that?" he nudged towards it, glancing back at the younger survivor in question.

"It's something I found on that run I went with Rick and Carl," Michonne smiled back at the little reminder of home, and suddenly felt a little more at ease.

Merle swore that he saw that woman smile. She rarely smiled at anything! Well, except for the times she smirked at him, but that was a different story. And, actually, she had a beautiful smile. _Dammit, get back on track here!_ He finally reminded himself.

"Anyway," he tried again, gaining that solid frown in return. "I think we oughta hook up. You an' me, Mute, we get the Governor's ass good an' we come back for a little _celebration_. Huh? I know ya got the hots for me, _Mi_chonne. I can see it on your face."

Michonne laughed at that. "You really think you can get in my pants that easily?"

"Jus' wait an' see darlin'," Merle told her, chuckling to himself. He plopped down on her bottom bunk and patted the space next to hers. "Hey, the hell you do for a livin' before all o' this, anyway?"

"Maybe you'll find out eventually," the katana-wielding survivor replied. She never expected him to ask her something like that. Maybe he was serious after all…

The redneck looked from the rainbow cat back to Michonne. "One o' these days, I'm gonna get ya tellin' me all o' yer secrets."

Little did they know that within the next few days, the Governor and Rick would be sitting down to have a talk. They chose that time to spring into action. Michonne didn't ask questions, she just went with Merle to do what had needed to be done.

Sometimes, the little things matter the most in the world. But sometimes, it's the people that help you deal. Michonne never expected to like a man like Merle Dixon, but when he pulled her into a kiss for the first time, she was starting to think that maybe she could get used to it.

**Alrighty guys, maybe I can actually watch these last three episodes now. Gah! Wish me luck! **


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